High Voltage Pole dancing school evicted from Elm home after complaints about women in ‘thongs and bras’ arise
A pole dance school on the ground floor of a home has been ousted from a Norfolk village after complaints about seeing women in ‘thongs and bras’ through the windows.
High Voltage Pole, run by teacher Danica Painter, had been offering classes to students from ‘the Old Jam Factory’ in Elm since 2020.
The converted warehouse was turned into a dance studio in the village without permission but, after West Norfolk Council was made aware of the site, it issued an enforcement notice to shut it down.
It followed a number of residents complaining that their lives had been disrupted by the venue.
One person said her four-year-old child could see from their bedroom window “girls in thongs and bras” pole dancing, and that it was “inappropriate” and “not the place” for the studio.
Others complained that parking had become “horrific” with drivers leaving their cars in the middle of the single-track road.
Ms Painter appealed to the Planning Inspectorate against the enforcement action – the government department that presides over planning disputes.
In a letter to the official, the dancer defended her business, arguing that none of the objectors had ever complained to her directly and that she had taken measures to prevent disturbing neighbours.
“In a world where it is easier to cancel and say no to things, I implore you to look within your heart and see that I am doing all I can to be compliant and appease concerns raised,” she said.
She also hit back at the objectors, claiming several of them do not live at their addresses permanently, while also refuting that her classes were noisy.
Despite her attempts to persuade the official, the Inspector upheld the enforcement.
The official said: “Whilst I have found that the development will not have a harmful effect on the living conditions of neighbouring residents, I have found it will result in harm to highway and pedestrian safety.”
Following the decision, Ms Painter is now in the process of moving High Voltage Pole to a new studio in Wisbech.
